Finland sends delegation for cooperation on green economy, digitalization
ANKARA
A large delegation from Finland will hold three-day talks in Turkey with a focus on cooperation in the field of green transition and digitalization, the Finnish Embassy in Ankara has said, amid ongoing negotiations over the Nordic state’s admission to NATO.
“Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Mr. Ville Skinnari, will pay a three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul on June 6-8. He will be accompanied by 20 Finnish companies, focusing on green transition and digitalization,” read a statement by the embassy on Twitter on June 6.
During his visit, Finland and Turkey will hold their first-ever joint economic and trade commission meeting, it said, informing that the minister will also meet Turkish representatives and attend the WIN EURASIA Fair.
The visit comes as Finland and Sweden are making efforts to overcome Turkey’s veto before their appeals to join the NATO alliance. Turkey accuses both states of supporting the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, YPG, and says it will not allow them in the alliance unless they change their attitude towards the anti-Turkey terror groups.
Turkey officially handed them a list of demands to this end. The two Nordic states are willing to get the necessary approval from all 30 allied countries during the NATO Summit to be held on June 29-30 in Madrid.
Finland takes anti-terror fight seriously
In the meantime, a senior security official from Finland has said the Nordic state is taking the anti-terror fight seriously and that his country is cooperating with Turkey.
Antti Pelttari, head of the Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service, told the Financial Times that Finland was doing its utmost to take the terrorist threat posed by the PKK seriously.
“We have been following the activities of the PKK for many years already,” he said, adding “In this year’s yearbook [of Finnish intelligence activities] we talk about the financing and fundraising activities of the PKK. We take it seriously. It’s clearly a terrorist organization. We take terrorism seriously.”
On President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s accusation that Finland, along with Sweden, turned into a guesthouse for terrorists, Pelttari stated “We are not a safe haven for terrorism. We operate under our laws and procedures and follow the EU listing of terrorist organizations.”
Pelttari said that Finland co-operated “very effectively” with Turkey and others on terrorism but could not provide any public details. “We take international terrorism very seriously. We condemn it, and we are a security provider in this field,” he added.